Photo - Officers, 4th (Reserve) Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders, May 1916.

[mrfrank]

I have an original named group photo taken by Bassano of London. Looking at those featured and their Medal Index cards, I believe it was taken at Ripon c. May 1916. I’ve now got the full names of most of the officers featured. One of those I’m not sure about is the Adjutant named as Capt W. Stewart. Looking at the MICs I thought this may have been Capt Weston Stewart, but having found an image for him on-line it doesn’t appear to be the same officer. Can anyone confirm who was the battalion adjutant in May 1916? 
Here is a crop of said officer in centre of image - sitting to the right as we look -  to Lt Col Mason-MacFarlane. 

For future searches, I’ll will shortly list those officers featured and if anyone would like a crop of a particular individual then please PM me. 

Mike

 

 

Edited 28 September , 2023 by mrfrank

[TullochArd]

Nice photo mrfrank. Good evidence of the Seaforth 'fishtail' ribbons on the glengarry.

[Tawhiri]

The May 1916 monthly British Army list confirms that Captain W Stewart was the Adjutant, with a promotion date of 21 May 1915. His initial commissioning was on 19 November 1914, so I'd say you're looking for a Stewart who commissioned with the regiment on this date.

https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/123261233

On that basis your man is the former Private William Stewart of the Surma Valley Light Horse, who was commissioned as a temporary Lieutenant with the battalion on 19 November 1914.

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/28979/supplement/9510

He was appointed Adjutant on 24 March 1915, the associated Gazette entry also naming him as William Smith.

https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/123261245

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29150/supplement/4244

Edited to add that there seems to be quite a bit of catching up with his promotions in various editions of the Gazette in mid-1917.

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30085/supplement/5019

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30109/supplement/5449

It also looks as though he was ultimately seconded for service with the King's African Rifles on 10 September 1918 with the rank of Captain.

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31030/supplement/13902

Edited 28 September , 2023 by Tawhiri

[Tawhiri]

And this looks to be his medal index card. You'll notice the annotation at the top of the front of the card that he is not to be confused with Weston Stewart

Image sourced from Ancestry:

Edited 28 September , 2023 by Tawhiri

[mrfrank]

16 minutes ago, Tawhiri said:

And this looks to be his medal index card. You'll notice the annotation at the top of the front of the card that he is not to be confused with Weston Stewart

Image sourced from Ancestry:

He certainly was confused with Weston Stewart 🙂

Thanks for confirming his real identity Tawhiri - much appreciated as I’d completely omitted to check the London Gazette!
 

Names of all those featured to follow…….

[mrfrank]

Those featured in the photograph I believe as follows:

Lt Col David J Mason-Macfarlane

Maj George M Cameron

Maj Ian Asher Forsyth

Capt Colin Mackenzie Cameron

Capt Alexander Campbell

Capt Gilbert William Fraser

Capt Charles David MacKinnon Blunt

Capt Finlay Mackinnon

Capt & Adjt William Stewart

Capt Roland Truslove

Lt James Watt

Lt & QM D Gair

Lt Andrew Duffield Blakely (RAMC)

2nd Lieutenants:

Alexander Brodie

Francis Warburton Brown

Archibald G Campbell

James Gavin Cowan 

Herbert Crozier

William Surrey Dane

Alexander James Davidson

Henry Edward Otto Murray Murray-Dixon

Henry Owen Fellowes

David Fleming

Donald Grant 

James Hay

William Holmes

Leslie Aubrey William Hunter

Dennys Brian Marriott Jackson

Isaac McIver

James Mackenzie

PW Mackenzie

MA Maclean

Ronald Ross Munro Macdonald

Norman MacMonnies

Murdo Murray

Alexander Nicol

William James Phillips

Ian McAllister Moffat Pender

Michael John Pottie

David Ross

James Andrew Ross

George Alexander J Smith

Alan Vincent Sutherland-Graeme

Ralph Wassell

William Weir

Alfred Wray

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 1 October , 2023 by mrfrank

[Tawhiri]

Working through the May 1916 monthly British Army list for the battalion and noting the commissioning date of each officer and cross-referencing to the Gazette allows more of your officers with initials only to be identified.

 Maj GM Cameron - likely to be George M Cameron, promoted to Captain on 30 April 1914 - https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/28846/page/5164

Lt J Watt - most likely to be James Watt, commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant on 2 September 1914 - https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/28886/page/6914

Lt & QM D Gair - unable to find the announcement in the Gazette, but there is an officer's personal file for a Captain Duncan Gair serving with the Seaforth Highlanders at the National Archives so this may be a possibility - https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C696324

2nd Lieutenants:

D Grant - Donald Grant, commissioned on 4 June 1915 - https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29181/supplement/5374

J Hay - James Hay, commissioned on 7 February 1916 - https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29469/supplement/1583

I McIver - Isaac McIver, commissioned on 13 August 1915, unable to find the announcement in the Gazette, but there is an officer's personal file for a Lieutenant Isaac McIver serving with the Seaforth Highlanders at the National Archives - https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C714544

J Mackenzie - James Mackenzie, commissioned on 11 December 1915 - https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29408/supplement/12677

PW Mackenzie - commissioned on 20 October 1915, unable to find the announcement in the Gazette

MA Maclean - no sign of an MA Maclean in the May 1916 list, but there is an A Maclean who commissions with the battalion on 28 May 1915, but unable to find the announcement in the Gazette

M Murray - Murdo Murray, commissioned on 18 December 1915 - https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29415/supplement/12811

A Nicol - Alexander Nicol, commissioned on 7 December 1915 - https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29392/supplement/12183

D Ross - David Ross, commissioned on 19 December 1915 - https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29406/supplement/12661

W Weir - William Weir, commissioned on 17 December 1915 - https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29411/supplement/12789

Edited 29 September , 2023 by Tawhiri

[mrfrank]

Thanks again Tawhiri…all identifications noted and gratefully received 👍 

Mike 

[Seaforthmedals]

Hi Mike,

I've recently joined and have read your post, and what a great image!

I can tell you that on the 5th September 1916 the 4th Btn Adjutant was Acting Captain Thomas Henry Peverell, who went onto receive the D.S.O., M.C and an M.I.D. He was wounded and a P.O.W at Cambrai 21/11/1917 and was actually recommended for the V.C but due to the fact he was a P.O.W the award was downgraded to the D.S.O. I've looked through your image and Peverell wasn't present, I've added an image below for you.

There are two officers in your image that I would appreciate and would be grateful if you could advise how we can arrange that please?

Best wishes

Terry

[John K]

Hi

i am researching the life of Henry Owen Fellowes ( 1893 - 1959 ) who is buried in the graveyard of St Francis and St Anthony church , Crawley , Sussex . He is listed in this photo of officers of the Seaforth Highlanders in 1916 . Records show he subsequently joined the RAF , but was then cashiered in 1929 .

Can anyone confirm he rose to be a Major in the Seaforth Highlanders ? Also what was his service during the Great War , did he join the RAF after April 1918 ? 
 

Thanks as always for any pointers you can give me on this man’s service .

regards

john Keaveney 

[Seaforthmedals]

Hi John,

Quite some time ago now Lieut Fellowes WW1 Pair, Defence and War medal passed through my hands.

I can confirm that he did not rise to the rank of Major.

He was commissioned 2nd Lieut 9/9/1915 arriving in France 21/1/1916 and was later promoted to Lieut 1/7/1917. He would've been present during the Somme and Arras operations 1916-1917 and possibly the 3rd battle of Ypres as a Platoon Commander.

On 1/1/1918 he transferred to the R.A.F (Technical Branch) with the rank of Flight Lieutenant.

You're correct he was cashiered, being due to embezzlement of Mess Funds (Gambling Debts), which was unbecoming of an Officer and a Gentlemen and bringing the service into disrepute.  I believe the WW2 medals had been added to the group however, his service papers not being available might indicate further service but I wasn't able to confirm one way or the other.

I hope that helps.

Best wishes

Terry

[John K]

Thanks for that Terry , really helpful . Fellowes was an interesting character, in 1935 he was found guilty at the Bailey of stealing £45 from his wife and sentenced to 9 months hard labour . Trying to work out his life story is quite difficult , he was definitely married twice and had a son , but all quite tangled !! 
I know it is outside the remit of the GWF but you mention WW2 medals , did he serve in WW2 ? , he was born in 1893 . 

[Seaforthmedals]

You're very welcome.

Having been cashiered from the R.A.F I doubt if he'd tried to re-enlist there. I did look through the army lists for 1939-45 and couldn't find anything, which is why I assumed the medals were added, whether by him considering his character or a collector.

Terry  

[John K]

Thanks again Terry , very helpful to have those details confirmed . 

[PRC]

Hi @John K and welcome to the forum

As an officer he had to apply for his service medals, and if he had wartime overseas service with the RAF those medals would have been issued by the Air Ministry.

But his medals were issued by the Army, on the Seaforth Highlanders Regiment Officers Roll.

Image courtesy Ancestry.

The MiC also tells us that he first landed in France on the 21st January 1916, qualifying him for the Victory Medal and the British War Medal only. Engraved round the rim would be the highest rank reached overseas and first unit served with overseas. Looks like that is Second Lieutenant and the Seaforth Highlanders.

While the MiC does reference him being a Flight Lieutenant in the RAF I believe that relates to his status when he applied for his medals in September 1922.

The September 1922 Air Force Monthly List has two appearances for him.
As a Flight Lieutenant - Personnel Staff Duties (Other Ranks), with effect from the 1st April 1920, at RAF Headquarters. https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/121288443
And as a Flight Lieutenant on the General List commencing 1st April 1918, but also quoting a date of the 12th September 1919 - possibly some kind of local seniority. (Column 147) .https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/121288695

Both The Aeroplane and Flight Magazine had an extract from the London Gazette in 1926.

"STORES BRANCH. -  Flg. Off Henry Owen Fellowes is granted a perm. comm in this rank with effect from Aug. 10, 1925, on completion of probationary service"

The Aeroplane 2nd June 1926: https://archive.org/details/aeroplaneinterna3019unse/page/536/mode/2up?q="Henry+Owen+Fellowes"
Flight Magazine 3rd June 1926: https://archive.org/details/sim_flight-international_1926-06-03_18_22/page/n13/mode/2up?q="Henry+Owen+Fellowes"

Looks like he was based at RAF Leuchars when the offences of passing dud cheques were discovered and he deserted. I'm sure you aware of all the newspaper coverage as well as that of the later Old Bailey trial - but here's a few glimpses for others reading the thread. The whole articles will be available via subscription access.

Image courtesy The British Newspaper Archive.

Not readily spotting him on the 1939 Register of England & Wales. Could be all sorts of reasons for that, but one possibility, as the Register was taken on the 29th September 1939, was that he was a member of the armed forces and already at his war station, so outside the scope of the exercise.

Cheers,
Peter

[Tawhiri]

5 hours ago, Seaforthmedals said:

I can confirm that he did not rise to the rank of Major.

Not quite true, the Gazette of 21 January 1919 has him raised to the rank of acting Major while still a Captain and employed as a Major with the RAF as of 19 September 1918. This is perhaps where the confusion arises. I cannot find a corresponding entry in the Gazette for when he reverts to being a Captain on ceasing to be employed as a Major.

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31136/page/1076

Interestingly enough, he had an earlier temporary appointment to the rank of Captain while still a Second Lieutenant, when he was appointed Adjutant on 15 August 1917.

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30281/supplement/9445

Although everything indicates that he transferred to the RAF in early 1918, I cannot find any trace of him in the RAF Muster Roll of 1 April 1918.

Edited 7 September by Tawhiri

[John K]

Thanks Tawhiri and Peter .

mountain’s of info , really helpful . The best documented parts of Henry’s life are his years in the military, details on the decades before and after his years in the army/RAF are sparse , difficult to find any census records or any other facts , even how many wife’s he had ? Interesting individual , but with some honesty issues !!

Kind regards for all your work on digging into Henry’s background .

John Keaveney 

[Seaforthmedals]

These might help John but no luck with the 1921 Census because he was stall a serving Officer.

Terry

[John K]

Terry 

that is really useful , thanks . I knew the name of his father , Jacob , but could find no other family records , and no census details , so your info has filled in a lot of gaps . 
The sparse info I had on his father , Jacob Fellowes , was that he was an Ironmaster from Darlington , the census for 1901 and 1911 you have provided state he was a blacksmith .

Just to show you the type of biographies I am compiling on the residents of the Friary graveyard in Crawley , here’s one I did earlier , Francis Archibald Kelhead Douglas , 11th Marquess of Queensberry ( 1896 - 1954 ) . Served in the Black Watch . 

Thanks again to everyone on GWF who have helped me on this one . 

John Keaveney 

[Tom Lang]

On 28/09/2023 at 11:03, mrfrank said:

I have an original named group photo taken by Bassano of London. Looking at those featured and their Medal Index cards, I believe it was taken at Ripon c. May 1916. I’ve now got the full names of most of the officers featured. One of those I’m not sure about is the Adjutant named as Capt W. Stewart. Looking at the MICs I thought this may have been Capt Weston Stewart, but having found an image for him on-line it doesn’t appear to be the same officer. Can anyone confirm who was the battalion adjutant in May 1916? 
Here is a crop of said officer in centre of image - sitting to the right as we look -  to Lt Col Mason-MacFarlane. 

For future searches, I’ll will shortly list those officers featured and if anyone would like a crop of a particular individual then please PM me. 

Mike

 

 

@mrfrank This is a very interesting photo.

You show that it was taken at Ripon circa May 1916, and you have the posting titled 4th (Reserve) Battalion...
The 3rd Battalion was the Reserve Battalion, and the 4th was a Territorial Battalion.

Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's) - The Long, Long Trail (longlongtrail.co.uk)

There are many Officers in the photo, and you name some of them in a subsequent post.
From the War Diary of the 4th Battalion, it shows that in May 1916 the Battalion was in the ECURIE and ETRUN area, in and out of trenches named "L1".   
So maybe the photo you have is not the 4th Battalion but the 3rd.

The WD shows that the 4th Battalion left BEDFORD on 5 November, 1914, so I question why so many Officers (in the photo) were in Ripon circa May 1916.

This intrigued me, and I started to 'dig' deeper.   I have no answers or conclusions, so maybe more clarity is needed on the origin and details of the photograph.
I looked at the War Diary of the 1/4th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders, for May 1916. It does not mention Capt. W. Stewart.
I looked backwards through April, March, February and January 1915, and there is still no mention of this Officer by name.   
I have searched most of the WD and still cannot find any Officer named Capt. W. Stewart.

The Battalion WD is difficult to read.   
It is hand-written (badly) on notepaper from November 1914 to November 1915, before switching to the 'official' War Diary Stationery Form 'C.2118' in December 1915.

What is also intriguing, is the changes of Commanding Officers of the Battalion in this short period (Dec 1915 through May 1916) due to some being Killed in Action.
e.g.

19 Dec 1915 
"Lt. Col. CUTHBERT, D.S.O., proceeded to England on leave, and temporary command of Battalion was taken over by Capt. W. GORDON".

20 Feb 1916
"Capt. C.G. HOGG assumed command of the Battalion vice Capt. L.D. HENDERSON".

29 Feb 1916
"Lt. Col. C.H. CAMPBELL, D.S.O., (CAMERON HIGHLANDERS) from the command of the 12th Battalion, W. YORKS Regt has arrived, and taken over command".

14 Mar 1916
"Lt. Colonel CAMPBELL, our new C.O. was Killed this morning by a sniper while observing.   He had only been with the Battalion 14 days.   He was a grand type of soldier and his fine personality will be missed by all ranks.   Our Adjutant Captain GORDON returned from a month’s course at IIIrd Army School.   Temporary Command of the Battalion was assumed by Captain S.R. McCLINTOCK, 4th GORDON HIGHLANDERS.   2nd Lieut. MACKIE relinquishes his temporary Adjutancy".

15 Apr 1916
"Major A.B.A. STEWART, D.S.O., 1st SEAFORTHS arrived and took over Command of the Battalion".

23 May 1916
"Our Commanding Officer Lt. Col. A.B.A. STEWART, D.S.O., was killed by a piece of trench mortar bomb while going round the front line.   He was a fine type of soldier & had seen much Service & though only a short time with the Battalion will be missed by all ranks".

27 May 1916
"Major UNTHANK of the 10th DURHAM LIGHT INFANTRY arrived and took over command of the Battalion".
[The last page of May 1916 is signed by "L.D. Henderson, Capt." but there is no indication to show that he was the Adjutant (or otherwise).   He is mentioned above on 20 Feb 1916]

Some Mentions of the "Adjutant".
-------------------------------------

On 5 Aug 1915 
"Lt. W. GORDON, 2nd GORDONS, arrived to take over duties as Adjutant to our Battalion".

On 15 Oct 1915 
"Lecture to Officers by the Adjutant" [no name given].

On 29 Dec 1915 
"Lecture also by the Acting Adjutant Lt. H.A. SUMMERS to all NCOs".

On 4 Jan 1916 
"In the afternoon a lecture on Map Reading was given to all Junior Officers by the Acting Adjutant." [No name given.]

On 14 Jan 1916 
"The Adjutant, Capt. GORDON went on leave, and his duties were temporarily taken over by 2/Lt. J. MACKIE."

14 Mar 1916 
"...Our Adjutant Captain GORDON returned...".

On 9 June 1916,
Sir JOHN FOWLER is named when he went on leave for 10 days, and 2/Lt SUMMERS becomes Acting Adjutant.   I can reasonably assume that Sir JOHN FOWLER was the Adjutant at that time.

20 June 1916 
"Capt. & Adjt Sir JOHN FOWLER returned from leave".

22 June 1916 
"About 9am enemy shelled ... the 2nd shell landed in HQ Dugout and killed poor FOWLER".

I tried to look forward from here through the WD but didn't find any trace of an Adjutant named Capt. W. Stewart.

Kindest Regards,
Tom.

[Tom Lang]

To help explain my earlier post, I'm attaching my transcription of the 4th Bn Seaforth Highlanders War Diary for the month of May, 1916 (less the original pages - courtesy of TNA - for brevity).

Tom.

[FROGSMILE]

 There’s something a bit odd, as quite a number of the officers in the photo have the small collar T of Territorial officers but they are wearing standard regimental cap badges and I need to check if that’s what the 4th (Ross Highland) Battalion wore (off hand I think it was).  There might be a little confusion as when they later merged with the 5th (Sutherland and Caithness) to form 4/5th Seaforth they adopted the latter’s Sans Peur bonnet badge with its Sutherland emblem of a Highland Wildcat.  If my assessment is correct then it probably is the 4th TF Battalion rather than the 3rd Reserve.  More research needed about respective unit movements to be sure.

Edited 9 September by FROGSMILE

[PRC]

2 hours ago, Tom Lang said:

You show that it was taken at Ripon circa May 1916, and you have the posting titled 4th (Reserve) Battalion...
The 3rd Battalion was the Reserve Battalion, and the 4th was a Territorial Battalion.

Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's) - The Long, Long Trail (longlongtrail.co.uk)

As shown on the same page, the 3/4th Battalion became the 4th (Reserve) Battalion when it was renamed on the 8th April 1916. So a picture taken c May 1916 would reflect that title and the location would be in the UK.

Cheers,
Peter

[FROGSMILE]

7 hours ago, PRC said:

As shown on the same page, the 3/4th Battalion became the 4th (Reserve) Battalion when it was renamed on the 8th April 1916. So a picture taken c May 1916 would reflect that title and the location would be in the UK.

Cheers,
Peter

Thank you Peter, that makes sense.  A different 4th Battalion as it were.  I think it’s sometimes forgotten that the renumbering of the ‘Reserve’ battalions sometimes led to a duplication of some unit’s designated numeration in that way.

Edited 10 September by FROGSMILE

[Tom Lang]

Regular Battalions.
-------------------
We have the 1st, 2nd and 3rd (Reserve) Battalions.
1st and 2nd Battalions served abroad in a Theatre of War, while the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion was the depot/training Battalion at Fort George, Ardersier. The 3rd (Reserve) moved to Cromarty on 'mobilisation'.

Territorial Battalions.
-----------------------
We have the 1/4th, 1/5th and 1/6th Battalions, and these are not to be 'confused' with the 2/4th, 2/5th and 2/6th Battalions.

Continuing the trend, we have the 3/4th, 3/5th & 3/6th Battalions, formed in Mar 1915; moved in May 1915 to Ardersier, then to Ripon in Nov 1915.

They became 3/4th (Reserve), 3/5th (Reserve) and 3/6th (Reserve) respectively, on 8 Apr 1916.

On 1 Sep 1916 the 3/4th (Reserve) absorbed the 3/5th (Reserve) and 3/6th (Reserve).

The 'now absorbed' 3/4th (Reserve) moved to Glencorse in May 1918.
They remained in the UK, so no War Diary.

Am I 'correct' to distinguish the 1/4th Battalion (T.F.) from this 'other' 3/4th (Reserve) Battalion (T.F.)?

It all now makes perfect sense (***).

Tom.